Black Canyon Ranch in Oregon

Welcome to Black Canyon Ranch

Last Updated: 03 June 2016

Welcome!

The Black Canyon Ranch near Bonanza, Oregon is home to Lewis White Dorpers.

Located in an isolated valley, elevation on the ranch ranges from 4,200 to 4,600 feet. Summer temperatures are moderate and winter temperatures can go well below zero with a minus 31F in 2014. Pastures consist of irrigated meadows backed up to steep lava cliffs. Dryland pastures are typical high desert rangeland with sage and western juniper.

There’s a rugged beauty to the area and a lot of history. The last battles of the Modoc Indian Wars were fought nearby. Around the turn of the century there were large bands of sheep in the country between Bonanza and Lakeview. Basque and Irish herders watched over these bands and their heritage is important in the area today. There were contentious times too, with the cattlemen pitted against the sheepmen in the Central Oregon Range War from 1896 to 1906. The Bonanza Grazing District in Langell Valley was the first district formed by the Taylor Grazing Act.

Wildlife is plentiful on the ranch with mule deer, antelope, geese, ducks, sandhill cranes, and of course coyotes, cougars and rattlesnakes. Eight spring-fed lakes and ponds contain trout and largemouth bass and Miller Creek also has trout. The local area is known for putting excellent summer gains on pastured cattle and growing high test alfalfa hay.